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According to results from brain scans, the insulaa brain area
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02 Aug 2023, 12:00
02 Aug 2023, 12:00
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According to results from brain scans, the insula―a brain area associated in part with pain-exhibits heightened activity when consumers think about how much a purchase will cost. In a recent study, researchers auctioned off tickets to a sold-out event. Half the study participants were to use cash to buy the tickets, while the other half were to pay by credit card. The credit card buyers bid, on average, twice as much as the cash buyers bid. This shows that credit cards, because they involve paying later, limit consumers' thoughts about price: credit card users are willing to spend more money because they experience less pain.
The reasoning above relies on which of the following assumptions?
A. In the study, the participants did not generally prefer to pay for tickets with a check drawn from a bank.
B. Most people exhibit similar levels of insula activity when thinking about a product's price.
C. In the study, the credit card buyers were not, on average, significantly more interested in attending the event than the cash buyers were.
D. Consumers cannot control the amount of time they spend thinking about an item's price.
E. In general, consumers do not consider an item's price before deciding on a payment method.
The reasoning above relies on which of the following assumptions?
A. In the study, the participants did not generally prefer to pay for tickets with a check drawn from a bank.
B. Most people exhibit similar levels of insula activity when thinking about a product's price.
C. In the study, the credit card buyers were not, on average, significantly more interested in attending the event than the cash buyers were.
D. Consumers cannot control the amount of time they spend thinking about an item's price.
E. In general, consumers do not consider an item's price before deciding on a payment method.
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Joined: 22 Dec 2016
Posts: 3125
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Re: According to results from brain scans, the insulaa brain area
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03 Aug 2023, 00:02
03 Aug 2023, 00:02
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Bunuel wrote:
According to results from brain scans, the insula―a brain area associated in part with pain-exhibits heightened activity when consumers think about how much a purchase will cost. In a recent study, researchers auctioned off tickets to a sold-out event. Half the study participants were to use cash to buy the tickets, while the other half were to pay by credit card. The credit card buyers bid, on average, twice as much as the cash buyers bid. This shows that credit cards, because they involve paying later, limit consumers' thoughts about price: credit card users are willing to spend more money because they experience less pain.
The reasoning above relies on which of the following assumptions?
A. In the study, the participants did not generally prefer to pay for tickets with a check drawn from a bank.
B. Most people exhibit similar levels of insula activity when thinking about a product's price.
C. In the study, the credit card buyers were not, on average, significantly more interested in attending the event than the cash buyers were.
D. Consumers cannot control the amount of time they spend thinking about an item's price.
E. In general, consumers do not consider an item's price before deciding on a payment method.
The reasoning above relies on which of the following assumptions?
A. In the study, the participants did not generally prefer to pay for tickets with a check drawn from a bank.
B. Most people exhibit similar levels of insula activity when thinking about a product's price.
C. In the study, the credit card buyers were not, on average, significantly more interested in attending the event than the cash buyers were.
D. Consumers cannot control the amount of time they spend thinking about an item's price.
E. In general, consumers do not consider an item's price before deciding on a payment method.
Conclusion of the argument: Credit cards, because they involve paying later, limit consumers' thoughts about price: credit card users are willing to spend more money because they experience less pain.
Hence, in arriving at the conclusion the author assumes that no other reason apart from the reason arrived as a part of the conclusion is responsible for the observation, "credit card buyers bid, on average, twice as much as the cash buyers bid".
Answer choice elimination
A. In the study, the participants did not generally prefer to pay for tickets with a check drawn from a bank.
From the details given in the argument, we can conclude that the participants did not generally prefer to pay for tickets with a check drawn from a bank. However, this information is not an assumption to arrive at the conclusion that the author seeks to establish. We can eliminate this option.
B. Most people exhibit similar levels of insula activity when thinking about a product's price.
Not a necessary assumption for the conclusion to hold true. Even if the levels of insula activity are different for different individuals, the conclusion can still be established. We can eliminate this option.
C. In the study, the credit card buyers were not, on average, significantly more interested in attending the event than the cash buyers were.
ah ! ha .. here we go. Yes, this option eliminates any alternate possibility. If the credit card buyers were significantly more interested in attending the event than the cash buyers were, then we cannot conclude that the reason the credit card buyers bid, on average, twice as much as the cash buyers bid was due to the fact the credit cards limit consumers' thoughts about price. We can keep this option.
D. Consumers cannot control the amount of time they spend thinking about an item's price.
The argument doesn't provide any correlation between the time spent thinking about an item's price and activities in the brain. Additionally, the statement doesn't affect the conclusion. The option is merely a distortion and we can eliminate it.
E. In general, consumers do not consider an item's price before deciding on a payment method.
This is a trap choice. We know from the experiment conducted that credit card buyers bid on average, twice as much as the cash buyers bid. The author uses the results of the experiment to arrive at the conclusion.
The method of payment was pre-decided, hence this is not an assumption. We can eliminate E.
Option C
General Discussion
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Joined: 11 Aug 2023
Posts: 1033
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GMAT 1: 800 Q51 V51
Re: According to results from brain scans, the insulaa brain area
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17 Aug 2023, 05:21
17 Aug 2023, 05:21
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Expert Reply
According to results from brain scans, the insula―a brain area associated in part with pain-exhibits heightened activity when consumers think about how much a purchase will cost. In a recent study, researchers auctioned off tickets to a sold-out event. Half the study participants were to use cash to buy the tickets, while the other half were to pay by credit card. The credit card buyers bid, on average, twice as much as the cash buyers bid. This shows that credit cards, because they involve paying later, limit consumers' thoughts about price: credit card users are willing to spend more money because they experience less pain.
Reviewing the argument, we see that the conclusion is the following:
credit cards, because they involve paying later, limit consumers' thoughts about price: credit card users are willing to spend more money because they experience less pain
The support for the conclusion is the following:
In a recent study, researchers auctioned off tickets to a sold-out event. Half the study participants were to use cash to buy the tickets, while the other half were to pay by credit card. The credit card buyers bid, on average, twice as much as the cash buyers bid.
We see that the basic idea of the argument is that people's use of credit cards caused them to spend more money.
The correct answer will state an assumption on which that reasoning relies.
A. In the study, the participants did not generally prefer to pay for tickets with a check drawn from a bank.
The passage says that, in the study, "half the study participants were to use cash to buy the tickets, while the other half were to pay by credit card."
Then, the support for the conclusion is that "the credit card buyers bid, on average, twice as much as the cash buyers bid."
Notice that that information supports the conclusion regardless of whether the participants would have preferred to pay by check. After all, none of the participants did pay by check. They all used cash or credit cards, and the conclusion is about a comparison between cash and credit cards. So, even if the participants DID generally prefer to pay for tickets with a check, the argument still works.
Eliminate.
B. Most people exhibit similar levels of insula activity when thinking about a product's price.
Notice that the argument is about what people do when they experience "less pain."
Even if this choice is not true and people DO NOT exhibit similar levels of insula activity when thinking about a product's price, it could still be that case that they all experience less pain when using a credit card than when using cash.
So, the logic of the argument holds regardless of whether this choice is true.
Eliminate.
C. In the study, the credit card buyers were not, on average, significantly more interested in attending the event than the cash buyers were.
In making the argument, the author uses the fact that "the credit card buyers bid, on average, twice as much as the cash buyers bid" to support the conclusion that "credit cards, because they involve paying later, limit consumers' thoughts about price: credit card users are willing to spend more money because they experience less pain."
Notice that, in doing so, the author is assuming that the credit card users' experiencing less pain is the cause of their bidding more.
So, what if this choice is not true? What if the credit card buyers WERE significantly more interested in attending the event? In that case, the argument would fall apart. After all, if they were more interested in attending the event, then it could be that interest, rather than their experiencing less pain, that caused them to bid higher.
So, the author must be assuming that this choice is true, and that the credit card buyers were NOT significantly more interested.
Keep.
D. Consumers cannot control the amount of time they spend thinking about an item's price.
Notice that this choice is about something different from what the argument is about.
The argument is about what consumers do when they experience "less pain" when they think about a price. The amount of time consumers spend thinking about a price does not affect how much pain they experience while they are thinking about that price.
So, this choice has no effect on the argument. After all, even if consumers CAN control the amount of time they spend thinking about an item's price, they may still experience less pain while they are thinking about that price if they are using a credit card.
Eliminate.
E. In general, consumers do not consider an item's price before deciding on a payment method.
This choice does not have to be true for the argument to work. After all, even if consumers do consider an item's price before deciding on a payment method, they could still consider it after deciding on a payment method as well. So, even if this choice is not true, the conclusion "credit cards, because they involve paying later, limit consumers' thoughts about price," could still be true.
Another way to look at this choice is to see that, even if, in general, consumers DO consider an item's price before deciding on a payment method, it could still be that, in cases in which they consider the price after deciding on a payment method, "credit cards ... limit consumers' thoughts about price."
So, the argument works even if this choice is not true.
Honestly, I don't really like this incorrect choice because I could see it being considered correct in a CR question, but since there are clear reasons to choose (C) over this choice, the question is gettable.
The correct answer is (C).
Reviewing the argument, we see that the conclusion is the following:
credit cards, because they involve paying later, limit consumers' thoughts about price: credit card users are willing to spend more money because they experience less pain
The support for the conclusion is the following:
In a recent study, researchers auctioned off tickets to a sold-out event. Half the study participants were to use cash to buy the tickets, while the other half were to pay by credit card. The credit card buyers bid, on average, twice as much as the cash buyers bid.
We see that the basic idea of the argument is that people's use of credit cards caused them to spend more money.
The correct answer will state an assumption on which that reasoning relies.
A. In the study, the participants did not generally prefer to pay for tickets with a check drawn from a bank.
The passage says that, in the study, "half the study participants were to use cash to buy the tickets, while the other half were to pay by credit card."
Then, the support for the conclusion is that "the credit card buyers bid, on average, twice as much as the cash buyers bid."
Notice that that information supports the conclusion regardless of whether the participants would have preferred to pay by check. After all, none of the participants did pay by check. They all used cash or credit cards, and the conclusion is about a comparison between cash and credit cards. So, even if the participants DID generally prefer to pay for tickets with a check, the argument still works.
Eliminate.
B. Most people exhibit similar levels of insula activity when thinking about a product's price.
Notice that the argument is about what people do when they experience "less pain."
Even if this choice is not true and people DO NOT exhibit similar levels of insula activity when thinking about a product's price, it could still be that case that they all experience less pain when using a credit card than when using cash.
So, the logic of the argument holds regardless of whether this choice is true.
Eliminate.
C. In the study, the credit card buyers were not, on average, significantly more interested in attending the event than the cash buyers were.
In making the argument, the author uses the fact that "the credit card buyers bid, on average, twice as much as the cash buyers bid" to support the conclusion that "credit cards, because they involve paying later, limit consumers' thoughts about price: credit card users are willing to spend more money because they experience less pain."
Notice that, in doing so, the author is assuming that the credit card users' experiencing less pain is the cause of their bidding more.
So, what if this choice is not true? What if the credit card buyers WERE significantly more interested in attending the event? In that case, the argument would fall apart. After all, if they were more interested in attending the event, then it could be that interest, rather than their experiencing less pain, that caused them to bid higher.
So, the author must be assuming that this choice is true, and that the credit card buyers were NOT significantly more interested.
Keep.
D. Consumers cannot control the amount of time they spend thinking about an item's price.
Notice that this choice is about something different from what the argument is about.
The argument is about what consumers do when they experience "less pain" when they think about a price. The amount of time consumers spend thinking about a price does not affect how much pain they experience while they are thinking about that price.
So, this choice has no effect on the argument. After all, even if consumers CAN control the amount of time they spend thinking about an item's price, they may still experience less pain while they are thinking about that price if they are using a credit card.
Eliminate.
E. In general, consumers do not consider an item's price before deciding on a payment method.
This choice does not have to be true for the argument to work. After all, even if consumers do consider an item's price before deciding on a payment method, they could still consider it after deciding on a payment method as well. So, even if this choice is not true, the conclusion "credit cards, because they involve paying later, limit consumers' thoughts about price," could still be true.
Another way to look at this choice is to see that, even if, in general, consumers DO consider an item's price before deciding on a payment method, it could still be that, in cases in which they consider the price after deciding on a payment method, "credit cards ... limit consumers' thoughts about price."
So, the argument works even if this choice is not true.
Honestly, I don't really like this incorrect choice because I could see it being considered correct in a CR question, but since there are clear reasons to choose (C) over this choice, the question is gettable.
The correct answer is (C).
